Blogs from Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Longest day so far and an anxious Ellis from the night before. Up early again for an 8am breakfast (it’s nice being able to have a guilt free full English - apparently we actually need the calories!!). Ellis still feeling nervous about having to cover the furthest distance so far - over 20 miles in a single day. Noisy start with the first bridge over the train line and then the second bridge over the M6. But soon managed to put those behind us within a few miles. By mile 6 however we could still see the M6, and I wasn’t sure that we should have been able to. Yep - we’d taken a slight detour (or, in layman’s terms - got lost). iPhone and Google maps to the rescue we set a corrective course and ... read more

After a quiet and solid night sleep, we had a slightly slower morning, but we’re still walking by 9, for another 20km day. After seeing another waterfall, we headed up the steep but brief track to the track along the ridge and followed this along with magnificent views into the valley. We then chose the lower route of the two options (way marked by an old tractor frame) down into the valley and were met with easy, flat walking along the river, for the rest of the day; cue Paolo Nutini and others keeping us company for most of the trail. It mixed between gravel and mud tracks, wide and thin, right by the river to higher ridges, and through wild meadows. A busier trail, mixed with coast to coast walkers and day trippers, it is ... read more

29 August 2019, Thursday Day 13 of travel day 9 on the coast to coast. Our departure from The George Hotel in Orton was followed very closely by a visit to the Orton chocolate factory. This is also known as the Kennedy chocolate factory. After our very nice breakfast we each had a sample of chocolate. You will see a few photos of the chocolates and the shop. The day was marked by walking across many green rolling hills of pastures, crossing many rock wall fences and a few picturesque views of limekilns and railroad trestles. It was also punctuated by extremely strong winds and gusts with some light rain. For the first time during the walk I had to wear my poncho over everything to help keep me dry and warmer from the blowing wind. ... read more

Another day of new adventures on the C2C. In the first hour of our walk today we probably all changed our outerwear three times. It was surprisingly warm when we started out, though the skies were threatening. We were walking fast since it was easy terrain and we quickly shed our outer layer. it then went from drizzly to rain but still warm, to cool and cloudy, to a brief period of heavier rain to windy, and cloudy. We ended the day with bright sunshine and a lovely cool breeze. We are getting used to constantly changing weather. New experiences today included walking across a "manure meadow", seeing ruins from 700 a.d., walking through endless moors and pastures with views of hillsides and mountains in every direction while constantly surrounded by sheep, goats and cows. We ... read more

A pint of your finest gov (ale/beer)! PART 1 We flew overnight to UK from Toronto to London then caught four (4) connecting train services from Paddington London to St Bees over approx. 6 hours to arrive at the most beautiful village and our B&B, the Abbey Farmhouse. This is the starting point of the Coast to Coast (C2C) hike** across England from St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay. ** The Coast to Coast (C2C) walk is a walking trail running for 370km (220miles) across Northern England. It was devised by Alfred Wainwright and set out in his book A Coast to Coast Walk in 1973. Most often walked the West coast to the East coast; the route starts at St Bees on the Irish Sea and ends at Robin Hood's Bay on the North ... read more